The Musician
by Renkhal
Summary: AU - Makoto just moved to Tokyo. She's a musician living alone, a third year high school student. She manages to lure in Minako with her music, and the blond is already falling for her. How will this turn out for the two?
1. Chapter 1

**Holy crap! I don't know about you, but I have just scared myself. I just mentally crapped out two stories for two different fandoms within 12 hours after like six months of not being motivated to write shit. Wow. I'm kind of scaring myself with this turn of events.**

**Let's just hope they don't die on me. My poor children...  
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><p>A guitar was heard from the fourth floor apartment in the middle of the apartment front. It wasn't a current top song, so most of the kids that walked by the apartment complex only gave it a curious glance before walking on. The older passersby stopped for a moment and smiled, remembering briefly the way their life was during the time that song was popular.<p>

Inside the apartment, a tall brunette wearing baggy cargo blue jean shorts and a pale green threadbare t-shirt was going over the different cords, occasionally changing the way the note sounded just to be fun and make the song different. She had the amp turned up a little high, but it was the middle of the afternoon and she always played around at this time of day. No one else complained, so she just kept going, her door open so that the noise could carry and not get cramped in the apartment.

After an hour she stopped playing and went to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers. She would cook for a week, and then eat on the leftovers for the next two weeks. It was her way of surviving, despite the fact that she really did enjoy cooking. As it was heating up, she grabbed a bottle of water and walked to the door to close it. Just before she did, she looked at the sidewalk to see and blond girl about her age staring up at the apartment. The blond saw her and waved with a bright smile. Feeling generous, the girl in the apartment returned the wave, and then shut the door and went back to her business.

The blond on the street had walked by this apartment for weeks now, just to hear the music. The first time she heard it, she had been really shocked to hear such an amazing sound. As soon as the music stopped and the door shut that first time, she had run home and immediately called her best friend, telling her about this really amazing music she'd heard. After that day, she made a point to walk by to listen, hoping for a glimpse of the musician.

It was about a week later that she finally saw the musician, and was shocked to see what she had thought was a guy, and a really good looking one at that. After that glimpse, she had run home to call her best friend, again, to tell her what she'd seen.

A few days later, she had listened and waited. After the music was over, she waited a little while and was surprised to see the musician leaving the apartment. The musician was dressed androgynously, sure, but as the musician reached the ground floor and started to walk off, the blond was surprised to see that 'he' was actually a 'she.'

She hadn't been fazed by this, though. No, she had fallen in love with this musician based on her music that sounded so beautiful. And love knew no gender, the blond assured herself. She just hoped that the attraction she felt, the pull that she felt in her chest when she saw the girl, would only get stronger as she strove to get to know the stranger.

And today, she had received a wave. Ecstatic, she ran home and went straight to her room before getting out her cell phone and dialing a number she now knew by heart.

"Usagi," came the perky response from the other side of the phone line.

"It's Minako. You'll never believe what happened today with me and the mystery musician!"

"Oh? Did you talk to her?"

"Not yet… but I waved at her and she waved back so I'm getting closer to talking to her!"

"That is pretty exciting, but… You really shouldn't get so worked up if she still hasn't talked to you. I mean, what if she's not into girls?"

Minako felt her heart deflate. "I… don't know what I'll do if that happens…"

"And, you don't even know her name or how old she is. What if she's in college? It's almost like taboo for a college kid to date a high schooler, unless they were dating in high school."

"Like you and Mamo-chan?" Minako teased. She could just imagine the goofy grin on her friend's face. "But, weren't you a third year middle schooler when he was a third year high schooler?"

"Bah, details." Minako laughed. "All right, so maybe the age thing isn't that big of a factor, but you still have to be careful! Wait until the school year starts and see if we see her around campus before you get too involved with her."

"All right, I'll do that. It's not like school is that far away. I only have to wait another week."

"Exactly. I'll talk to you tomorrow, I still have to do the readings that were due before the start of school. And I'm sure you still need to do them as well."

Minako winced. She did, but who could concentrate on that when she had a bona fide hottie on her mind? "Yeah, yeah, I'll start on them tonight as well…"

"Good. Later, Mina."

"Later, Usagi."

Unfortunately, Minako didn't take Usagi's advice to heart and the next day Minako found herself outside the apartment listening to the music again. When the music stopped, she waited a moment and sighed before preparing to move on.

"Oi, blondie! Hold up!" she heard someone yell. She looked around, and then up to the fourth floor of the apartment. There stood her mystery musician smiling down at her. "Stay right there, I'll be right down."

Minako nodded, not trusting her voice. Today mystery musician was wearing a tank top over her cargo jean shorts from the day before. Soon enough, the musician was at ground level and crossing the street to where she stood.

"Hey, I see you standing here listening every day," the musician said with a crooked grin and smiling eyes, her voice a nice husky sound that Minako just couldn't help but appreciate.

"Y-yeah. I enjoy listening to you. You're really good," Minako managed to say.

The musician laughed. "Glad you think so. By the way, I'm Makoto. Kino Makoto."

"Aino Minako. Are you in school?"

"Yeah, third year at Juban High."

Minako brightened. "Really? I'm a second year there."

"Second year, huh. Well, guess that rules out having a familiar face in one of my classes, but I guess just knowing someone in the school at all isn't a bad second best," Makoto joked. "Would you like to come up? I just made some cookies earlier, and I need to use up my milk before the end of next week so I'd be grateful for the assistance."

"You bake?"

"Yup. Bake, fry, stir… I love to cook."

"Wow, you cook and play guitar…" Minako was in awe. Makoto just laughed. "I'd love to come up and help you with the milk. I wouldn't say no to the cookies either."

"That's good. I was kind of hoping you were going to be by today, so I made them to lure you in," Makoto said with a wink before laughing at her surprised expression and leading her up to her apartment. "I'm just kidding, I had been in the mood to bake today. It just so happens that I thought about inviting you up to share them with you when I saw you down here again."

Minako giggled and followed the tall brunette. "Well, I certainly don't say no to cookies, though I probably should…"

"Why should you?"

"I don't want to get fat, you know."

Makoto gave her a slow once over. "Nope, I don't see an ounce of fat on you. You're safe to a dozen of my homemade cookies, I guarantee it."

"A dozen?"

"Yeah, I made… probably about four dozen cookies. I plan on taking a dozen down the way to my neighbor who's got four kids. I saw them at the store asking her for cookies, and when she tried to tell them she couldn't afford it and they didn't understand… I just felt heartbroken. So I wanted to take some to her. She's a single mother now, husband passed away a little while before I moved here."

"Wow…" Minako was shocked; this girl was simply amazing. Cook, musician… and she helps people when she doesn't really have to. Minako could feel her heart just growing in attraction for this girl.

"So, what do you do? Or, maybe the better question is what do you want to do? With life, I mean. Though, now is all right too. I don't want to bore you."

"You're not boring at all," Minako said with a genuine smile. "And, I want to be an idol one day. Singing, modeling, acting… I want to do it all."

Makoto smiled warmly. "You've certainly got the looks, and I haven't heard you sing but you sound like you might have a really good singing voice. You don't have to give me a taste of you acting though, I'm sure I'll see it soon enough."

"Most likely, since I take a part in the school's plays every year."

"Oh? Leads every time?"

"No, but that's all right. I just like to be on stage, to be able to entertain the audience so that they don't have to think about how hard life is and just be able to enjoy what little reprieve I can offer them while I'm in some character's shoes."

"That's really awesome of you. My dreams aren't nearly so noble. I want to open a restaurant, something classy and refined where the rich and famous choose to dine often for clientele and dates to be impressive," Makoto admitted. "I want the best palates tasting my dishes and telling everyone they know just how amazing they thought it was, so that more and more people come just to taste my fine cooking, to see the art that I create on their plates so that they may feel momentary bliss in their mouths."

Minako smiled, loving just to hear Makoto talk about her dream. However, Makoto seemed to notice she was rambling and cleared her throat, her cheeks a light red.

"Uh, tell me about your friends. Are they all in your class?"

"Oh no, I'm in 2-D with my best friend Usagi. Rei is in 2-B because she's really smart, but she's not nearly as smart as Ami, who's in 2-A. She really should be in 3-A with as smart as she is, but she keeps refusing the offers to move up a grade. She did that in elementary school, so she's already a year younger than everyone else. When she got into middle school she swore that she'd try to be a normal student while still being true to herself. She met Rei last year, and Rei introduced her to me and Usagi. Rei and Usagi met two years ago when they were both going after the same guy. Usagi won him in the end, and she and Rei became friends. Usagi and I have been friends since we were toddlers. Our fathers worked together for a while."

"I take it you guys are all really close?"

"Yeah," Minako admitted. "Hey, you should come meet them! We get together every Saturday night at the Crown for milkshakes and then we sometimes go to the movies, or we head to the Hikawa Shrine and watch movies there."

"Are you sure they won't mind?"

"Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine with it. I'll talk to Usagi later on if it'll make you feel better, though."

"I'd appreciate that, if you don't mind. I'd hate to show up only to get booted out."

"They wouldn't do that. Rei might get really frustrated and yell at me for a little while, but then she'd cool off and be okay with it and try to get to know you. And if Ami doesn't have a book and actually notices you're even there, I'd be even more surprised," Minako joked. "But seriously, I don't think they'll have any problems, but I'll still check with Usagi."

"All right." Makoto finished her fourth cookie and the last of her milk and then went to get her guitar, unplugging it from the amp and sitting back down. "Now, about your singing… I'd like to hear, if you don't mind? Maybe we can go to clubs, get your name out there, in the next couple years so that you can be discovered and become an idol one step at a time."

Minako laughed. "I'd love to sing for you, Makoto."

"Great! Name your tune, and I'll get it going for you."

They spent an hour talking, eating cookies, and singing together before Minako's phone went off and her mother was telling her to come home.

"Thanks for inviting me in, it was a real blast," Minako told Makoto as she stood.

"It was," Makoto agreed. "Ah, can I… have you cell number?" she asked shyly.

Minako smiled and offered her cell phone to Makoto. "Only if you'll give me your number too."

Makoto's smile widened into that crooked one from before as she got out her phone to hand to Minako. They quickly exchanged numbers, and then Makoto walked Minako to the door to wish her a safe trip home.

Minako couldn't remember ever coming home happier, and she immediately called Usagi to tell her about Makoto.

"Of course she's welcome to come on Saturday! I'll let Rei know so she doesn't flip out, but I won't let her say no. And we both know Ami won't care. We'd be lucky if she even knew there was an extra person present," Usagi joked.

"That would be great! Thanks Usagi, you're a real pal."

"I know. Please, rub it in some more!"

Minako laughed. "All right, I need to get to sleep. I have a date with a musician tomorrow so I can tell her she can come to the gathering on Saturday."

"Just send her a mail and be done with it. I want to steal you tomorrow to go shopping with me and Mama. If I don't bring you along, who knows what sort of torture she'll put me through."

"All right, all right. Just call me before you get here so I can be ready."

She and Usagi hung up, and then she typed a quick message to Makoto.

'Usagi said yes you can come. She'll take care of Rei. She's also kidnapping me tomorrow, so I'll come by on Saturday to take you to the Crown. Unless you want to meet us there?'

'Come over on Saturday. Just let me know what time.'

'Four in the afternoon.'

'Roger that, Houston. I'll see you then. Have fun tomorrow.'

Minako smiled and set her phone aside. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed with a bright smile on her face.

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><p><strong>...<strong>

**That was REALLY long...**

**I think that scares me more than the fact that I'm actually coming out of sorta retirement.**

**Reviews are money, so please pay me so I can afford to write more. ;D  
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	2. Chapter 2

**So, I've come to the conclusion that there aren't enough Sailor Moon readers or something. At least, not as many as there were when I started writing fics for this fandom. Or maybe I'm just not cool enough. I don't know... *shrug***

**Anyway, I got bored and for some reason was really inspired to write another chapter. I'm kinda shocked at how long these chapters have been. I know they aren't long compared to some fics I've read but it's long for me. Usually my chapters are like, half this size.**

**So, enjoy this chapter.  
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><p>Rei was awake before dawn on Saturday. She didn't really know what possessed her to even want to be awake this early, but she was awake and turning off her alarm. Yawning, she got up and went to the bathroom to shower. When she returned to her bedroom wrapped in just a towel, she was surprised to see Ami sitting in the middle of the room with her school book on her lap, her eyes focused very intently on the text.<p>

"Any reason you're here so early in the morning?" Rei asked with a smirk. This wasn't the first time she's come back from a shower to find the blunette in her room.

"I didn't feel like being home alone," Ami answered simply without looking up. Rei could see the faint pinking of her cheeks, so she knew that the other girl was aware of her state of undress. The miko walked over to her closet and pulled out her hakama for the morning chores.

Ami's eyes were concentrating on the words in her book, her senses all too aware of Rei's movements. Once she was sure the dark haired girl was dressed she closed her book and looked up to find herself nose to nose with her. Her face didn't even hesitate to turn red.

"You want to borrow a hakama and help me work? Or do you want to stay in your shorts and tank top?" Rei asked lowly. Ami looked at the yellow tank top and mid-thigh jean shorts that she was wearing, and then looked at the hakama Rei was wearing.

"I'll stick to what I'm wearing," she answered. "Do you have to wear that? It's already quite warm despite the sun still not being above the horizon."

Rei straightened now that her attempts at teasing the blunette were no longer working. "Yeah, it's traditional. I'll change once the chores are done. It's Saturday, so I have to be a little more diligent. Chances of a larger crowd are greater today."

"I thought the goal of these chores was discipline," Ami teased.

Rei shot her a look. "Don't start with me, book warm."

Ami just laughed and followed the miko outside to help her with the chores.

An hour later the sun was starting to make the already warm day a lot hotter. They were almost done, so Rei offered a break for breakfast. Ami was grateful enough for the offer, since she wasn't as used to the jobs as Rei was. She only helped out occasionally, and usually only on Saturday mornings when her mom had a twenty hour shift the Friday night before.

A few hours later and in another part of town, Makoto was sipping coffee while cooking her own breakfast. Fighting a yawn, she set aside the mug and flipped over the French toast she had cooking on the pan. She had just barely finished and set those aside when there was a knock at the door. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only a little after nine in the morning. Since she didn't really know many people, and none of the ones she did know were likely to be over this early in the morning. Curious, she walked over to the door and opened it to reveal a bouncy, bright eyed Minako smiling up at her.

"Hey, stranger," Makoto teased. "What are you doing here so early? Yesterday you told me you barely woke before noon if you could help it."

Minako laughed lightly. "I couldn't help it. I was too excited about seeing you again today."

"I'm flattered," Makoto said with a laugh. "Come on, I'll throw some more French toast on the stove and I'll feed you. I'm feeling bacon as well, and I believe I have a bag of hash browns in the freezer that I can fry up."

"Sounds good to me," Minako said. "I've been pretty curious to taste your cooking."

Makoto didn't respond as she got caught up in her thoughts over breakfast. Once all the food was cooking she looked at Minako to find the blond sitting at her small table. "I'm thinking I'll make either cookies or brownies to offer to your friends. Think they'd be more accepting if I bribe them into being my friend?" she joked.

"I don't know about Rei and Ami, but Usagi will definitely accept being bribed by food. She's a glutton for sweets especially," Minako answered honestly, though her smile told Makoto that she knew the brunette had been joking. "Can I help you with them? If you tell me exactly what to do and don't let me do the hard stuff, I shouldn't mess anything up."

Makoto laughed. "I'll measure, you stir?" she offered.

Minako grinned. "Yeah, that ought to be safe enough for me. I'm afraid cooking is most definitely not something I'm very good at, not at all."

"Hang out with me enough, maybe we can change that," Makoto said offhandedly as she finished cooking breakfast and turned off all the burners and started carrying things to the table. "Would you like milk or juice to drink? I think I have orange and apple juice."

"Orange juice, if you don't mind."

Makoto nodded and poured two glasses of orange before sitting with Minako. "We're meeting them at four, right? Seems like a pretty random time to me."

"Well, last year we didn't always leave school at the same time, so we just sort of migrated at the Crown on Saturdays around four just out of coincidence at first, then we just started consciously going there. It's just become a tradition during school that we hold to during breaks as well, even though the chances of us spending a day together during the week is pretty likely."

Makoto nodded, seemingly deep in thought and making Minako quite curious and just a little nervous.

"Makoto?" The brunette snapped out of her daze to look at the blond. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking… I mean, I've never really had many friends, and those I did have definitely didn't really hang out with me after school."

Minako frowned and was about to ask more questions when Makoto finished eating and moved to the kitchen to clean up from the breakfast preparation. Sensing that the subject was over, Minako continued to eat and then started clearing the table so that she could help Makoto with the cleanup.

It was a little after eleven when Usagi woke up. She looked at her desk where her books were and sighed. She still had to do the school work before Wednesday, when school started up again. There was a lot of it to do, and when she had told Minako she was going to work on it she ended up getting distracted by a manga (or three) instead. With a short groan she got up got ready for the day, showering and dressing in cool clothing. Then she stared at the books again before putting them in a bag and walking downstairs.

"Morning, Mama," Usagi greeted her mom cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen and dining area. "What's for lunch?"

"Morning, Usagi. I'm just finishing up the rice balls for you to take to Rei's, but if you're hungry now you're welcome to make yourself a sandwich. I just got some cold cuts from the store this morning."

"I think I'll help myself then!" Usagi told her, going to the fridge and getting out the meat. She found the bread and started making a couple of sandwiches. "Rei loves your rice balls, so she'll be happy to see me bring them over. I think I'm going to go there after I eat. I need to talk to her before we meet everyone at the Crown later this afternoon anyway."

"Oh? You're still going to meet everyone there today? I thought you didn't have any of your allowance left?"

"I have just a little, just enough for a milkshake. I don't know what else we're doing, though. If we go to a movie, I'll just ask one of them to cover for me until I get my allowance again," Usagi said, not really concerned with the problem.

Usagi's mom just smiled and started wrapping the rice balls so they kept their shape and survived the trip to Rei's. Once wrapped, she put them in a container and set them aside. Usagi took her sandwiches to the table and began to eat.

"I could probably make an exception and give you a little money so that if you guys do go to the movies or something you don't have to beg off your friends. However, I expect you to help me clean the house tomorrow. I want to do a full clean before you start school again and I have to watch the house get all dirty again."

"All right, Mama. I'll be sure to stay home to help you clean tomorrow then," Usagi promised. "Thank you." She ate quickly, took the money offered to her by her mom, grabbed the rice balls, and then ran out the door so that she could hurry to the Hikawa shrine to bother Rei.

At the shrine, Usagi wasn't surprised to walk into Rei's room to find both her and Ami laying on the floor taking a nap. This was a pretty common occurrence for Saturdays, since Ami tended to come over most Saturdays before dawn and help Rei with the chores, and due to the fact that neither would really get much sleep they'd end up on the floor sleeping. Usagi was always entertained by this, because somehow the two would always end up cuddling when this happened.

Giggling at the site, Usagi pulled out her cell phone and took a picture before mailing it to Minako and waking the two up.

"Rrrrreeeeeiiiii!" Usagi yelled, causing both sleeping girls to jolt awake and away from each other. Rei looked around and found Usagi standing there laughing.

"Usagi!" Rei snapped. "What the hell?"

Usagi's laughter died down to giggles and she put the rice balls on the small table in Rei's room. "I came over so I could give you these from my mom, and to talk to you about something. I had hoped Ami would be here too."

"What's wrong, Usagi?" Ami asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, really. I just wanted to tell you two that there would be another person joining us today, and Minako wanted to see if you would like to get together early ."

Rei blinked a couple times, letting the information sink in. "Minako has someone she wants to invite to meet us? Like, someone she's dating or someone she's just befriended?"

"Befriended, but I think it could develop further if the person will allow it…" Usagi said, grinning at the fact that Rei was taking the bait and getting curious. This meant that there was a greater chance of Rei not getting upset with the fact that there'd be a stranger meeting them.

"What sort of person is this friend Minako wants us to meet?" Ami asked, a little more suspicious than Rei was at the moment.

"Oh, a musician from what Minako tells me. Guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, a little violin, some trumpet, I think there was mention of a saxophone…"

"How old is this musician?" Rei asked, officially dubious.

"A year older than us in school," Usagi answered calmly. "Minako is completely entranced, it's pretty funny."

"Yeah, I'd bet. That blond barely ever introduces us to people she's either into or dating…" Rei grumbled. "This is… I don't really know what to say to this."

Ami frowned and thought the information over. "I suppose if this person is a musician, it would make sense that Minako would be interested. I mean, she wants to be an idol and one step to being an idol is becoming a popular singer. She's very interested in music already, so add a musician to her love of music… I could see how this would appeal to her."

"Oh! And this musician can cook too!" Usagi exclaimed excitedly.

Rei rolled her eyes. "You'd be anyone's friend if there was food involved."

Before Usagi could deny that, Ami spoke again. "Usagi, you keep refraining from giving the musician a gender. Is the person female, and you're just unsure of how we'd react to Minako's possible interest in a woman?"

Usagi frowned. "No, I didn't think you'd have a problem with it in the long run, it's just… I wasn't sure how you'd respond to the fact that it's Minako showing interest in a woman. It took me a couple minutes to let it sink in when I had realized it myself, because it had kind of shocked me. I mean, she's always talking about the boys she's interested in. It was odd to hear her talk about a girl she'd met."

Ami nodded. "I suppose I can understand that. Minako didn't really seem interested in women, so it could come across as a momentary shock."

Rei shook her head. "It doesn't surprise me. Minako may talk about the boys a lot, but I also know she's a big fan of love with no boundaries. She'd be the first one of us to talk about how cute any kind of couple we came across was, whether hetero or homo."

Usagi nodded. "That's what I decided also, Rei."

"You know, now I'm curious to meet this person. Call Minako and ask her to bring the girl over," Rei said. Usagi grinned and got out her phone to call.

Makoto had just pulled the brownies out of the oven when Minako's cell phone went off. The blond answered it quickly, and Makoto set about checking to make the brownies were done. Once she was satisfied, she set the treats aside and prepared to look for something to prepare and serve for lunch.

"Yeah, we'll be over shortly then," Minako was saying. "Bye, Usagi."

"I take it they changed the time."

"Yup! Apparently Usagi sold the idea of you joining us so well that Rei is adamant that we come over immediately."

Makoto frowned at the brownies. "They need to cool before I can cut them and get them ready to move. And I'm sure you're going to want lunch soon. Or, at least I will at any rate."

"I suppose we could eat something light while we wait for the brownies to cool," Minako suggested. Makoto nodded and opened the fridge to pull out some different fruits from a drawer. "What are you going to make?"

"A fruit salad, which will be ready about the same time that the brownies are cooled and we can take them both with us. I'd hate to take something sweet and not have something healthy. You're welcome to sample the ingredients for the salad if you want, though," Makoto teased, offering her a cluster of grapes. Minako took them with an amused giggle.

"You're going to spoil my friends, Mako."

Makoto grinned. "I've got to do something to make them want to keep me around," she joked. "Hmm, should I prepare anything else, I wonder…"

"I think you'll be fine with brownies and fruit salad. It's going to be interesting enough to see their faces when you walk in with this as it is."

Makoto nodded and started cutting up the fruit.

Almost an hour later, the two were standing at the stop of the stairs to the Hikawa shrine.

"Man, that will take some getting used to," Makoto mumbled, looking back at the stairs. "How many stairs is that? Got to be over a hundred…"

Minako shook her head. "I don't know. I start counting sometimes, but by fifty I just can't focus on the numbers anymore and give up."

They looked forward again and walked up to the house. Minako opened a door and walked inside, saying hello to the people inside. Makoto took a deep breath before following.

"I hope you didn't make that," a girl with black hair said to Minako, who had been carrying the brownies since they were the lighter of the two items.

"Don't be silly, I only stirred the mix together. Makoto did all the hard stuff," Minako told her, turning to look back at me. "Hey, come in! What are you, a vampire that needs permission to enter?"

Makoto gave a nervous laugh and shook her head as she walked in with the fruit.

"Wow!" Usagi exclaimed, looking at the bowl of fruit and the brownies. "See, Rei, we didn't need to eat lunch, Mako brought it to us!"

"It's hardly lunch," Makoto mumbled.

Rei looked at the brunette, studying her. "I think I'll go get some of Grandpa's leftover stew warmed up and bring it in to help make the meal more substantial. Not that I'm scrutinizing the fact that-"

"It's fine," Makoto told her, smiling in apology for interrupting her. "I would have brought something with more substance but I didn't have enough time when Minako got the call for us to come over."

"So Minako had been with you when Usagi called?" Ami asked, looking at the blond in question.

"Yeah, I was. She fixed me breakfast, and I helped stir the brownie mix!" Minako said proudly. Ami just nodded. "Oh! Mako, this is Usagi, Rei, and Ami. They're my friends!"

Makoto bowed in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Kino Makoto."

"Kino?" Rei asked with a frown. "Weren't you expelled from one of the other schools in town recently for fighting?"

Makoto winced. "Yes, I was."


	3. Chapter 3

**I am sooooooo sorry for the delay. I had actually completely forgotten I had stories in the making, and then opened up My Documents on my PC and saw this chapter and flipped out. Unfortunately, that means I doubt it was as complete as I had meant it to be, but I felt bad enough for forgetting about it that I decided to publish it as is. I blame the router dying as the reason I forgot, because it died and so I didn't get on my computer as much, choosing to read fanfiction on my phone instead, and then we bought a new router and... Yeah... I am soooo sorry for this. I hope you will forgive me!**

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><p><em>"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Kino Makoto."<em>

_"Kino?" Rei asked with a frown. "Weren't you expelled from one of the other schools in town recently for fighting?"_

_Makoto winced. "Yes, I was."_

The silence in the room was so think it would have taken a large sword to cut through it. Makoto shifted nervously, and then the question they were all thinking was asked by Ami.

"What was the fight about?"

Makoto offered a small smile. "I lost my temper with some guys during P.E. They were making fun of one of the girls and I couldn't handle it. I mean, so what if she likes girls, right? It's not their business, it's hers. Anyway, we fought and I got transferred because I had a history."

"History?" Rei asked, scowling. "How many fights have you gotten into growing up?"

"Uh… at least a couple dozen since I was seven." Makoto shrugged. "The fights weren't about me after a couple years. I started to protect the other kids, so I was given a little more leeway, but even the school can't turn a blind eye to violence after a while."

Rei still didn't look satisfied, so Makoto sighed and got to her feet.

"Sit down," Rei grumbled. "Geez, I'm not going to jump your throat just because you got into a couple fights. Besides, you don't seem too bad."

Usagi grinned up at Makoto. "Don't let Rei bother you. She always looks like this; it's nothing for you to worry about. If she tells you to sit, she likes you."

Makoto hesitated and glanced at Minako.

"Usagi's right, don't worry," Minako told her, smiling and patting the spot next to her.

Offering a nervous smile, Makoto sat back down.

"I'll go get that stew going," Rei said, standing and leaving with a glare at Usagi. Ami shook her head and looked at the two blonds.

"Have you two started your summer reading yet?"

Both exchanged looks before grinning sheepishly at Ami, who just shook her head at them.

They ate, the four friends laughing and making conversation. They tried to involve Makoto as much as they could, but the brunette felt a little overwhelmed and wasn't able to contribute much to conversation. Mostly, she just watched Minako as she interacted with her friends.

"Hey, Makoto, Usagi mentioned that Minako said you can play a slew of instruments," Ami said, realizing that the newest addition to the group was quiet.

"Ah, yeah, I can play guitar mostly," Makoto answered.

Rei cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go ask Yuuichiro if we can borrow his guitar so we can hear you play."

"I don't mind."

Rei nodded and left the room to go retrieve the guitar. Minako offered Makoto a warm smile, and Makoto returned it with a slightly tenser one. A short wait later, Rei returned with an acoustic guitar and handed it to Makoto. Makoto inspected the guitar and shifted so she could hold it better. Going over the strings, and retuning one of them, Makoto cleared her throat and looked at the group.

"Um, do you have a song request?" she asked them.

Minako put up a thoughtful look, and then grinned and offered up a suggestion. Makoto nodded and started playing the song on the guitar and spitting out lyrics to go along. She was pleased to see Minako looking as impressed as her friends, even though Rei was trying to hide it.

As soon as she stopped, she got up to set the guitar aside and turned back to the group.

"Wow, no wonder you caught Minako's ear," Usagi said, having been rehearsing that line for a majority of the song just so she didn't give away her friend's feelings so soon. Given the grateful look Minako sent her, she figured she'd done a good job with the wording.

"You are very talented," Ami added in agreement.

Even Rei managed to say a gruff, "It was pretty good…"

Makoto flushed a little and rubbed the back of her head as she laughed a little nervously as she sat back down. She wasn't really used to getting praise, and other than Usagi she knew that the other two weren't ones to give compliments easily. She was about to add something else when she heard her phone's alarm going off. She pulled it out to look at the alarm.

"Crap! I had a meeting this evening!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to her shoes. She stopped at the door to look at everyone. "It was great meeting you all. Ah, I'll see you soon, yeah?" The last part was said looking at Minako but encompassed the rest of the group as well.

"Yeah, we'll have to get together again soon," Minako said, grinning happily despite her curiosity over what sort of meeting Makoto would have to go to.

"Great! I've got to go before my social worker flips, but I'll mail you later," Makoto told her. "It was nice meeting you all."

And then Makoto was gone.

"Social worker?" Rei mumbled. "I don't like the sound of that, Minako. She could be a bigger delinquent than we thought."

"It can't be that bad. Maybe it's just because of the fights?" Usagi asked, trying to look at the bright side. "We don't really know too much about her, but she doesn't seem like a bad person. We should just give her a chance. She's new to the area, and it sounds like she's very misunderstood."

"I didn't say we should leave her alone. I'm just saying we need to be careful," Rei snapped.

Ami nodded. "We shouldn't be careless with her, but I don't think she's a bad person." She looked at Minako. "Just in case, though, I think you shouldn't be alone with her, Minako. She can come along when we go out though."

Minako frowned; she felt safe with Makoto. She didn't really want to limit her time with the brunette. However, given the situation she nodded resignedly. Usagi frowned, knowing her friend was disappointed with this decision despite understanding it.

"We could always look her up," Usagi said. "You know, on the Internet? Ami, you could find her couldn't you?"

Ami frowned. "That would be an invasion of privacy, Usagi. I'd rather just ask her personally the next time she joins us."

"Then that's what we'll do," Rei said. She looked at Minako. "Is that okay? I know you don't like the idea, but it's better to take precautions."

"I know. I just… I trust her," Minako admitted shyly. "But I understand. I'll refrain from visiting her alone. Besides, school starts soon. There will be plenty of opportunities to be around her then, since we hang out after school frequently. Right?"

"Right!" Usagi agreed enthusiastically.

"Speaking of school…" Ami started ominously. Usagi and Minako both groaned; leave it to Ami to make sure they got started on their summer reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**It's short, but it's here. I couldn't decide what to do next, but I wanted a little Mako/Mina time before getting into the first day of school. So, a little filler for you.**

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><p>Minako had just gotten home when her phone beeped to announce the arrival of a new mail. She couldn't stop the grin as she opened it to see that it was Makoto.<p>

_Sorry for leaving abruptly earlier. I'd completely forgotten I had to meet with my social worker before school started._

_It's all right._ Minako looked at her message and bit her lower lip. Should she ask about the social worker? Or wait until Makoto told her? Sighing, she tapped in, _Curious – why do you have a social worker?_

_That's actually a better conversation for in person…_

_It's nothing bad, is it?_

_Not really. Would you like to meet for lunch tomorrow? My treat, wherever you want._

Minako wasn't sure what to say. She told Rei that she wouldn't meet with Makoto alone, but she really wanted to go see her. She was distracted by another mail.

_Invite your friends if you want._

She didn't want to, Minako decided. Even if they were just two friends getting together, she really wanted to meet Makoto alone just to prove everything was all right and her friends didn't need to worry.

_It's okay. I'll meet you for lunch. There's a small diner around the corner from where you live, called Journeyman's._

_Sounds good to me. Would eleven be too early for you?_

_No. I'll be there._

Minako couldn't hold in her excitement, her chest fluttering as she imagined that they were going on a date. Her eyes closed as she fell back on her bed with a happy sigh.

Makoto wasn't sure what to tell Minako about her social worker. It wasn't very common for a seventeen year old to be living alone, and even less common for that seventeen year old to have been living alone since the age of fourteen. She wasn't sure what her new friend would think.

"Suck it up, Kino," she mumbled to herself as she walked into the diner. Looking around, she didn't see Minako so she sat down at a table and waited.

Fifteen minutes past eleven, Minako rushed into the diner and quickly found her.

"Sorry! I overslept a little," Minako admitted, cheeks pink.

Makoto grinned. "I thought you might have. Don't worry about it." Minako nodded and sat down. "Let's order, and then I'll answer any questions, okay?"

Minako nodded and they silently perused the menu. Once they had ordered, Minako looked around nervously before taking a deep breath and meeting Makoto's amused eyes.

"You asked about the social worker, last night," Makoto said. Minako nodded. "Well, he's my guardian. I've been an orphan since I was twelve years old."

"Orphan?" Minako asked sadly. "Oh… I'm sorry, Makoto. You don't have to explain if you don't want to."

Makoto shrugged. "It's all right, I don't mind telling you."

Minako waited for a moment before nodding. "What happened? To your parents, I mean."

"My dad was going to America, so my mom went with him. The plane's engine failed over the Pacific and crashed. They weren't among the survivors," Makoto explained, looking down. Minako reached over and placed a hand over hers. She saw the brunette smile at the gesture before meeting her teary gaze.

"I'm sorry, Makoto," Minako said, trying to keep the tears from falling. She failed though, and closed her eyes. A gentle, calloused hand touched her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"Hey." Minako opened her eyes to look at Makoto. "Thank you, but you don't need to be sorry. I miss them, but they're still with me. You don't need to cry for me."

"Someone has to," Minako said.

Makoto chuckled. "All right, if it will make you feel better. But, it would make me feel better if you didn't cry, because I'd like to enjoy your company. Tears seem to always make that difficult."

That made Minako smile, and she nodded, wiping away the rest of the tears. "Okay, I won't cry."

"Good." Makoto sat back as their lunch was delivered.

"Are you nervous?" Minako asked suddenly. When Makoto looked confused, she said hurriedly, "About school, I mean. Even if it's not your first-first day, it must still be a little scary."

Makoto nodded. "There's always a chance that a cousin of one of the guys I've beat up will be attending the school. It's happened before, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again. Beyond that, I'm nervous about the other students. Knowing that somewhere there will be you and your friends to look for is a comfort, because then I'll know someone."

"You said that before," Minako said with a smile. "I'm glad we can help."

Makoto smiled. "Are you ready for school?"

Minako groaned. "I still have to finish my summer reading. Ami made me and Usagi start on it last night after you left but it's just so boring."

"What are you reading?" Minako told her. "Oh, no wonder you're having trouble." Makoto started talking about the book, an amazed Minako soaking in every word as they ate. By the end of the lunch, Minako felt better about finishing the reading.

"Thanks, Makoto," she said as they stood to leave once Makoto had paid, "for the lunch and the help with my reading."

"It was my pleasure," Makoto told her. "What are your plans for this afternoon?"

"Ah, I was going to continue my reading before calling Usagi and seeing if we were going to get together. But, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Usagi mentioned cleaning the house with her family, so I don't think she'll be able to escape."

"Would you like to spend the afternoon with me?" Makoto asked. "We don't have to stay out too long, since you do have your homework still. I'm just too cooped up to go back home just yet."

"That would be great," Minako said happily. She was happy she didn't have to leave the brunette just yet. "I'd love to spend time with you."

Makoto's expression beamed. "Awesome! What's fun around here then?"


	5. Chapter 5

**No, I'm not dead. I was really struggling with what I wanted to do next for this story. I thought about skipping to the first day of school, but I really wanted to have an event happen before then. As it is, when I wrote in the event in this chapter... It doesn't feel right to me, but this is what I wanted so...**

**Anyway, I hope this chapter sucks less to you than it does to me.**

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><p>It was almost five when Makoto walked Minako home. They had gone to the mall, where Minako had happily dragged Makoto all over the place. They had stopped by the mall arcade for a while, where Makoto was modest about her racing skills even when she beat Minako three times out of four. Minako was better at the dancing game, which didn't surprise Makoto. Makoto proved her prowess with a shooting game and Minako jumped back with an arcade style fighting game.<p>

"I had a lot of fun," Minako said with a ginormous grin.

Makoto laughed and nodded. "I did too. We'll have to do that again sometime. And, ah, maybe next time you can invite your friends? I'm pretty sure that Rei doesn't like me still."

"She's just super protective," Minako explained. They were about to enter the residential area where Minako lived. "Once she gets to know you and understands you better, she'll be a lot nicer."

Makoto nodded solemnly. Minako was going to say something else when a rock flew between their heads and Makoto turned quickly, pushing Minako behind her.

"Well, well, well. I thought it might be Kino," sneered a young man as he walked towards them. Two others stood behind him and chuckled; they knew what was coming.

Makoto tilted her head to talk to Minako softly, "If something goes down and I end up fighting, run home and call the cops. You may need to ask for an ambulance, most likely for them but… sometimes I don't come out as unscathed as I hope."

"But-"

"Please. I want to keep you safe. I hate to say it, but if I'm protecting you I'm more likely to ignore my own safety. You're close to home, and there's only three of them. I can-"

"Hey! Shut up!" the guy snapped, stepping forward. "Whatever you've gotta say to your little girlfriend, your time is up. I'm gonna kill you!"

"Oh yeah?" Makoto countered. "I'd love to see you try." She looked him over. "Your brother is Satoshi, right? Satoshi Himoto?"

"What of it?" he growled.

"He thought he could kick my ass with more guys than you've got right now. And don't think I don't see the two in the shadows," Makoto pointed out with a laugh. "Come on, you don't stand a chance!"

"Makoto…" Minako whimpered.

"Run," Makoto told her as the guy surged forward.

Minako hesitated a moment, until she saw Makoto dodge his hit and land a knee in his stomach. The others started to move and, although she didn't want to leave Makoto, she turned and ran. Getting the cops would be her best bet to help Makoto.

Minako tore into the house, ignoring her mom's indignant outcry for her to be more careful and slow down. Picking up the phone, she dialed the emergency number.

"What's your emergency?"

"My friend is in the middle of a fight with, like, five guys who want to kill her."

"Where is your friend now?" Minako told her what streets were right by where the fight was. "All right, I've got emergency vehicles responding now."

"Thank you." Minako hung up and turned to leave only to run into her mom.

"What's going on, missy?"

"My new friend is in the middle of a fight down the street!"

Her mom's expression went from stern to surprised to concerned, and she grabbed her keys. "We'll drive down there. The car will be a little safer, but I don't want you getting out of the car until the cops are there, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom."

They ran out and got into the car, arriving at the scene just as the cops did. Minako jumped out of the car. She didn't see Makoto, and there was only one guy standing there. The others had ran off as soon as they heard the sirens. A few cops had immediately ran after them, a couple on foot and two in their cars. The other duo of cops stayed, booking the guy that remained.

When Minako was close enough, she saw Makoto on the ground.

"Makoto!"

The brunette looked over and grinned. "Hey, Minako," she said, pushing herself to her feet before grunting in pain and dropping back down to a sitting position. One hand was covered in blood and holding her upper arm, that arm also wrapped around her waist. She took one look at the concern on the blonde's face and laughed. "It seems worse than it is, I promise."

"You're bleeding," Minako said, frowning, "and, you can't even get up! How is that not worse than it seems?"

Makoto seemed to consider that. "Okay, so it's not worse than it seems?"

Minako was torn between smacking her upside the head and kissing her senseless. In the end, she didn't get to do either, because a paramedic and a cop approached them.

The cop asked them both questions separately, talking to Minako while Makoto was being treated by the paramedic, and then talking to Makoto before allowing Minako to approach her again. When Minako did approach her, Makoto was signing a form that said she refused transport to the hospital.

"You should have someone look at your injuries," Minako scolded.

Makoto shrugged her good arm's shoulder. "I should, but it's bad enough I got into a fight to begin with. If there's a medical chart out there from a hospital visit, I'm in some pretty deep shit with Katsu."

"Katsu?"

"Yeah, my social worker," Makoto clarified. "He's pretty lenient about a lot of things, but any fights I get into, whether I start them – which hasn't happened since I was a kid – or not, he gets pretty angry with me. The more trouble I get into, the greater the chance of me losing my independence, even after I turn eighteen."

Minako bit her lower lip, trying to relax a little. "I was really worried about you…"

Makoto reached out to take hold of her hand. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Minako. I didn't want to, and I hate that you had to see that at all. Thank you for running to call the cops though."

Minako nodded.

"Anyways, I should get home and rest," Makoto said, standing and offering her a small smile. "It's such a bummer that they cut into my left arm, because that means I can't play my guitar. And school will be fun, since I'm left handed…"

"You should let my mom drive you home," Minako said. "If anything, it will make me feel better knowing you got home safely."

Makoto frowned. "It's only a few blocks, I should be all right."

"Makoto…"

The musician sighed and nodded. "All right, if it'll make you feel better."

Mrs. Aino drove them both to Makoto's apartment. After she realized that Makoto lived alone she demanded that Minako pack an overnight bag and stay with her for the night to make sure she was okay. Makoto tried to refuse the help, but in the end gave in and didn't say anything else.

Once the duo was in the apartment, Makoto collapsed on the couch and sighed.

"Makoto, are you all right?" Minako asked shyly. "I can leave if you really don't want me here."

Makoto sat up to look over at her. Taking in Minako's defeated posture she sighed and got up. "Nah, it's fine. I just… I'm always a little grumpy when I get hurt during fights. I'm not invincible and I know that, but I've always been a great fighter so actually getting hurt always makes me a little… defensive with everyone. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to take it out on you."

Minako looked up but didn't seem to feel better. "All right, then… are you sure you're okay with me being here?"

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "It's fine. Come on, you can crash in my room and I'll take the couch."

"No! You're injured, you should take the bed!" Minako exclaimed, despite the inner squeal she emitted at the idea of sleeping in the same place Makoto slept. It was a pretty creepy thought when she really considered what she was thinking, but she didn't feel like dwelling on that.

Makoto shook her head. "I'll be a lot more comfortable on the couch, because I won't move so much there. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather sleep in my bed if you knew what sleeping on my couch was like," she joked.

"Well… all right," Minako agreed.

Makoto opened her bedroom door and heard the blonde gasp. "What?" she asked, turning to look at her.

"It's so clean in here!"

Makoto frowned, and then openly laughed. "Yeah, I'm a bit of an obsessive cleaner at times. I was up early this morning with nothing to do before we were going to get together, so I just cleaned my room. I had done some work in the living room, but not nearly as much as I usually do."

Minako carefully set down her bag by the door as she studied the different things in the room. There were, strangely, no ornamental pieces on the dressers or anything. No posters decorated the walls. Minako looked at the nightstand and smiled; there were two photos there, one of a younger looking Makoto with two adults who were most likely her parents and the other had an older Makoto with her arm around another girl's shoulders.

"Who's this?" Minako asked, sliding a finger over the frame of that picture gently. When she didn't get a response right away, she turned to see Makoto staring at the picture sadly. "Makoto?"

"She was my best friend, a couple years back. I… We were together, like romantically together," she explained before walking over to Minako's side. "Unfortunately, I couldn't protect her one day, and she was cornered by some guys who wanted to piss me off. One of them had a gun, and shot her. She bled out because no one was there to help her."

Minako immediately wrapped her arms around Makoto. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Makoto." A second later, she was surprised to feel something wet hit her cheek and looked up to see Makoto crying silently. "Makoto?"

"I'm glad you ran," Makoto said. "I was afraid you'd stay and I wouldn't be able to protect you either. If you'd died too because of me…"

"I'm okay, Makoto," Minako whispered. "Let's go back to the living room. You should rest."

"I need to cook dinner," Makoto mumbled, pulling away from Minako and leaving the room swiftly, wiping her eyes along the way. Minako stared after her for a moment before looking back at the picture. The girl was a very pretty redhead, and she looked happy in Makoto's arms. Minako decided that she must have really loved Makoto to be willing to stay with her knowing that Makoto was targeted by some rough groups.

"I'd stay by her side too," Minako whispered before turning and also leaving the room.

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><p><strong>I hope there are still people reading this out there. Please review and let me know how I'm doing.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

When morning came, Minako didn't register right away where she was. There was a light floral scent, maybe lavender or something soft and relaxing like that, that filtered into her sniffer as she became more conscious. A few moments later she heard a similar sound to the one that originally started waking her – a clang as something fell to the floor followed by a curse. As she opened her eyes and looked around, she immediately remembered where she was and why as soon as she saw two pictures that were familiar to her.

"Mako!" she exclaimed, jumping up and barely avoiding being tripped by the tangled sheet around one ankle. Before she opened the door she remembered her nightgown and paused. It wouldn't really be good to walk out barely dressed, but… Well, what if Makoto had hurt herself again? She shook her head and left the room to look for the brunette. With no surprise, she found her in the kitchen with a pot at her feet and several ingredients on a puddle of water strewn around it. "Are you sure you should be cooking with that arm?"

Makoto scowled and leaned back against the counter, staring at the pot. "I know I shouldn't. I'm sorry if I woke you, but… Well, I rarely have to think about others hearing me when I drop things in the kitchen. It doesn't happen usually, but with my arm…"

Minako looked at the arm, seeing a little blood coming through the bandages and Makoto wince when she tried to move the shoulder. "Did they cut you with a knife or something? I didn't ask last night what happened when I left, but I'm curious now."

"A serrated knife," Makoto answered, opening a drawer and pulling out her bread knife. "It was kinda like this one, but without the two pointy bits at the end and a bit shorter. That guy was the only one with a weapon so I tried to take him out first, but two others managed to hit me before I could really dodge him one time. I was pretty sure they were gonna manage to do some more damage, but the knife guy lost his confidence when I busted his nose with this arm. He had to know what the damage was, and I still popped him one with it. He didn't stand long after that, once his knife was out of his hands and the other guys were getting knocked around a bit too."

It was the first time Minako had heard about a fight so casually. She was sure it wasn't as nonchalant a fight as Makoto was making it out to be, but she wasn't about to call her out on it. Just those details made her both afraid of the others and want to hug Makoto for days.

"We should change your bandages," Minako said, bending over to pick up the pot and food on the floor. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and get the stuff out, and I'll meet you in there once I clean up in here?"

"I'm sorry," Makoto mumbled before leaving the kitchen, not giving Minako a chance to respond. She was pretty sure her new friend was scared of her now, knowing what she had done. The girl was probably trying hard to get through until she could politely leave her, especially after hearing about what happened to her friend in the past. Makoto pulled out her first aid box and sifted through the mass quantities of bandages, gauze, and tape to find the sizes she needed. The paramedics had put stitches in her arm after she told them she wouldn't be going to the hospital, so she left her stitching supplies alone and just focused on gauze and tape. She had just finished setting things out when Minako appeared in the doorway.

"That is a lot of bandages. I guess you're no stranger to fixing yourself up, huh?" she said as brightly as she figured was appropriate. "So, how do I do this? Ami is the one that usually does our doctoring, since her mom is a doctor and taught her some things, but even she's never had to care for something like this. You might know more than her on the practice in this area."

Makoto hummed to show she heard, and then got out the scissors to cut off the current bandage. "It's not hard. Just wrap up the wound snuggly but not too tight with the roll of gauze after I put a gauze pad over the worst of it." Once it was exposed, Minako bit her lip to keep from crying. It was really red and still bleeding, though there wasn't as much blood as there'd been last night on the sidewalk.

They silent worked together to get Makoto's arm bandaged, and then Makoto told Minako she should shower and dress. "I wish I could cook something for you, and for your mom, to thank you, but… Well, you saw my earlier attempt," she tried to joke.

Minako just grinned. "We'll just have to have a rain check. Once you're all better you can come by and cook for us, okay?" Her cheerfulness was full force in that statement, surprising Makoto a little. "Why do you look so surprised?"

"I just figured you'd want nothing to do with me now," Makoto admitted.

Minako shook her head and hugged the taller girl with a light blush on her cheeks. "If you think that anymore, I'm gonna smack your arm, got it?" she said softly. Makoto just nodded, her own cheeks a little pink from the action. "Now," Minako continued, pulling away from the hug hesitantly, "I'm gonna clean up and then we are going to go hang out at Rei's. I had a mail from them this morning saying we're doing a study group since Usagi and I hadn't finished the summer homework and I want you to come along."

Makoto winced. "Are you sure? I mean, with my arm…"

"All the more reason for you to go," Minako decided with a nod. "They were trying to say you're super dangerous and stuff, and I'm gonna prove them wrong! You totally protected me last night, and I want to regal them with all the details!" She ignored the other wince Makoto made at that statement. "They need to know, Mako. Especially that meaning Rei, telling me not to be alone with you…"

That made Makoto come to attention. "They said not to be alone with me? Minako, you should've listened to them! I almost got you killed last night, and you're acting like it was some heroic deed or something. I'm not a hero, I'm a delinquent!"

"You are not! You are warm and friendly and fun and cute and I don't want them to hate you for who you are! You protected me because of some idiots who decided they could pick a fight just because you stood up for yourself at some other school. You could have easily acted all mighty and tried to show off in front me, pretend like nothing bad would come because you're super strong and amazing, but you told me to get away and get help because you knew you needed it." Minako glared up at Makoto, who shrunk away a little. "Now, you should wash up first. I know you can't get totally washed, but you should at least wash what you can. Then you will dress while I clean up. Then we're going to the Hikawa Shrine. Got it?"

Makoto nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Pleased, Minako left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen to try and see if she could make sandwiches or something. Surely she couldn't mess those up… Makoto hurriedly chose a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, hoping the little sleeve would help hide the worst of the bandages, before cleaning up.

Once they were both cleaned and dressed, Minako sent a mail to Usagi and Rei to let them know they were coming. She ignored Rei's snappy response about Makoto being with her, choosing to pretend they were all okay that she was with Makoto alone right now.

Makoto, on the other hand, was more nervous than when she'd met them previously. The silence as they walked was eating at her, and at the last few dozen feet from the stairs she broke it. "My father was a musician."

"Huh?" Minako was shocked and nearly stopped walking. "Your dad was?"

"Yeah. He played guitar in a bad for his high school, and met my mom that way too. They were high school sweethearts. She played bass for the band until they graduated and went to college. The rest of the members went to the same college, but she went to one a little farther away. My dad kept in contact with her and visited her often, and I guess it was enough to make my mom fall in love with him enough to marry him before they graduated. I wasn't born until they'd been married for three years, since they weren't stable immediately. My dad played for a local club every evening he could to supplement both his and my mom's work until they were able to get in stable positions."

Minako was amazed, and forgot to count the stairs. They were halfway up before she realized it. "Your parents… They're the reason you play now, right?"

"Yeah they are. My dad taught me the guitar starting at age five, and my mom pouted until she was allowed to teach me the bass. I was a natural, they said, because I could play complex songs after only a couple years of them teaching. And I loved it so I started to ask to learn more instruments. They didn't know any others so they found teachers for me. I practiced all the time and got really good. My dad joked I was gonna make a one-man band and wow the world. But I didn't care about playing it for others. I just wanted to play for my parents. When they died… The only things I fought to keep were their bass and guitar. I didn't care about pictures or furniture or any of that. The only picture I kept was the last family photo we'd taken, and the rest went away. Ketsu is my dad's best friend, and he was also the drummer for their high school band."

Now they were at the top of the stairs and Minako couldn't think of anything to say in response. And unfortunately, she didn't have time to because Rei was standing on the walkway waiting for them with her arms crossed. Behind her on the stairs were Usagi and Ami looking at the books for the summer homework.

"What the hell are you thinking, Minako? We asked you not to be alone with her, and now you're arriving with her – alone!" Rei stomped towards them, fire in her eyes as she got ready to lecture. Before she could approach Minako to really lay into her, Makoto got between them and bowed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had asked that of her and I gave her ample opportunity to break that promise to you. It is all my fault, so please forgive her."

Stumped, Rei stood there dumbly trying to think of something else to say in response. Ami approached in the meantime and saw the bandages peeking out from under Makoto's sleeve.

"Rei, why don't we go inside? I need to see how far along Minako is in her homework, and it's too hot to stand here. I'm sure Makoto will gladly listen to you lecture inside," the blunette said calmly, putting a hand on Rei's shoulder. Rei huffed and turned, leading them inside. Makoto straightened, only to find her eyes met by Ami's. "Your arm – how is it?"

Makoto hesitated, leaving Minako to step up to answer. "It's still bleeding a little, but it's not nearly as bad as last night. Did you hear about what happened from your mom?"

"I heard a little, but she didn't know much. She was livid that the paramedics didn't drag in the patient after hearing about how bad the arm looked from them. I'll let her know it is doing well so she doesn't continue to worry," Ami said with a small smile, turning her attention back to Makoto. "Why did you refuse treatment?"

"I don't want this on record," she mumbled. "My… my social worker, he won't like knowing I was in a fight, because he won't be able to fight for me too much more if I'm not careful."

Ami nodded, leaving it at that before leading them inside. Usagi had already gone in with Rei, sensing that she was needed more there and trusting Ami to take care of the others.

As soon as they entered the room and Ami and Minako were seated, Rei started in on her rant. It was mostly just a typical lecture about danger and safety aimed towards Minako and lasted about twenty minutes before she slowed down to turn to Makoto.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked, her tone a little calmer. "And don't try to blow it off as something stupid. I want the whole story, even the gory bits if you have to."

Makoto hesitated, glancing briefly at Minako before starting in on the story. She started from the time the guys approached her and Minako to the time Mrs. Aino dropped them off at the apartment with strict instructions to Minako to stay the night. Rei listened without interrupting; she nodded at times to make sure that Makoto knew she was still listening. At the end, Usagi was a little paler and looked ready to jump Makoto with hugs if not for Ami holding her hand to keep her seated.

"So, that's what happened," Makoto said lamely as she finished.

"Thank you for telling us the whole story," Rei told her in response. "And thank you for looking out for Minako. I guess you aren't so bad, though you are as dangerous as I thought."

Makoto lowered her eyes. "I understand. I'll go if that's okay-"

"Stay seated! I never said I was done with you!" Rei snapped, stopping Makoto as she started to stand and verbally forcing her to sit again. "Jeez… Look, if you wanna hang out with Minako, it is fine. There are a helluva lot more people out there for her to get involved in. I don't think I have to tell you what kinds of people are out there." Makoto nodded slowly, keeping her eyes down. "Would you stop looking like a wounded dog already? For kami's sake!"

Makoto's head jolted up as Rei banged her fist on the table, surprised at the action.

"Rei…" Ami started, stopping whatever she'd planned on saying when she saw Rei take a deep breath and release it to calm down.

"Anyway, you can't see a doctor because of your social worker, right?" Makoto nodded, and Rei looked at Ami. "Think you can ask your mom to look at her arm as a favor? I hate to think she's not getting it looked at. Paramedics do okay with emergency patch ups but long term…"

Ami smiled. "I already sent her a mail during the story. She's willing to see her if Makoto is willing. And," Ami looked at Makoto, "she said it did not only stand for this single event. She will always be willing to look in on any injuries you obtain."

Makoto relaxed. "I hope none others will come, but I appreciate the gesture. I'll keep her offer in mind and would appreciate the assistance in this case. The stitches are patch jobs, and the wound too deep. I need more care than I can provide myself alone."

"Now that that is settled," Rei announced quickly, making sure that everyone knew she was over her anger with Makoto and would accept her, "we need to look at the summer homework. I know where Usagi is… But what about you Minako?"

Minako grinned. "Mako helped me finish it last night!"

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><p><strong>It has been FOREVER since I sat down with this story. Or any story, I know. I'm going to work on that. I won't make any promises, but I'm hoping to make Fridays an update day for at least one of my fics that are incomplete. More than likely, I'll be working on this one for a while because I'm in a MinaMako kick for some reason and pouted a lot when I saw that there weren't really any new stories for this pairing.**

**Hopefully you won't be too angry with me... See you next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

The first day of school was a Wednesday, and only the teachers seemed to be taking the day seriously. Well, the teachers and Mizuno Ami were taking the day seriously, but that was normal for a first day back from summer break. The other students were lazing in their classrooms and talking even past the bells, entering their rooms late, and other typical first day things. The only other person who was trying to be diligent was the third year transfer, Kino Makoto, who was part of the talk between students after the summer stories were done being shared.

"That girl, I heard she beat up, like, twelve guys and was put in some institution or something for a while," she heard someone say while she pretended to take a nap between classes at her desk. Makoto sighed inwardly and kept her eyes closed. She couldn't remember ever fighting twelve guys, and the only institution she ever entered was an educational one like this school.

"Did you see her arm? It looked like she was bandaged up. Do you think she's already gotten into a fight?"

"No way, she'd already be out of here. I hear this is the last time they'll let her transfer schools. She's probably trying to keep people from messing with her."

Yeah, she'd love it if no one messed with her. She only had to make it to the spring, and then she'd be safe and finally done with school, except for culinary school. But that was less likely to have fighting and these "last chance" issues.

"Is that Aino? What is she doing in the third year hall?"

Makoto lifted her head to look, and grinned at Minako's back before getting up to go greet her. At least, she would have if she hadn't heard, "Oh my god, I think the new girl is going to talk to her! Who does she think she is?" So when she passed Minako, she didn't say a word and kept walking a little.

"Oh! There you are, Mako!" Minako exclaimed, causing whispers to stop as they watched her jog up to Makoto's side and smile brightly up at her. "You want to come have lunch with us? It's such a nice day we figured we'd eat outside. Did you bring a lunch?"

"Yeah, I brought something," Makoto answered, rubbing the elbow of her injured arm. Ami's mother had told her to put the arm in a sling, but she took it off as soon as she got close to the school. There was no reason to make the teachers suspect anything, and she was able to do a little bit of writing with that hand so long as she didn't move too much. "It's not time for lunch is it?"

"No, there's one more class between now and lunch, but I wanted to ask you before it was time so you didn't feel lonely," Minako answered. Then she added sheepishly, "I also kinda wanted to see how you were doing, since I'm sure it's been a rough morning. I tried to visit earlier, but Rei wanted to make sure she gave me one more good lecture about not being careless."

Makoto chuckled and stopped once they were far enough away from a majority of the students. "Is she still worried I'll get you in trouble?"

"No. I think she's worried I'll get myself in trouble again." Minako grinned. "Last year I snuck into the broadcasting room during one of the breaks and convinced one of the students to play some music over the loudspeaker. I wonder if Ikumo is still upset with me over that…"

They laughed over that and would have spoke longer if they hadn't been approached by two third years. "Aino-san, we were wondering if you would join us for lunch today. We brought plenty for three if you didn't bring anything."

Minako pretended to think before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, guys, but I already promised Mako here that I'd eat with her and my friends. This is her first day and she's already a little shy about the ordeal. You see, my friends are really looking forward to eating with us, and Makoto won't go without me since they don't know each other very well. Maybe some other time will work out better, okay?"

They nodded and walked off after wishing both girls well.

"I thought I was going to have put you in a difficult situation and cause problems," Makoto admitted slowly as she watched the boys walk away. "Didn't realize you were so popular, but I guess with as cute as you are it makes sense."

Minako wanted to blush, just so that Makoto knew just how that comment hit her, but she held back. The pause should do enough, she thought, grinning at Makoto. "Yeah, well, comes with the territory of aiming for stardom, right? Gotta be easy to look at, and be able to deal with the fans, yeah?" She giggled as Makoto laughed. "Anyway, I should head back towards my classroom. I'll come get you at lunch, so wait for me okay?"

And after a nod from Makoto she was hurrying down the hall to the second year classes. Sighing, the brunette went back to her classroom knowing she was going to get looks and probably a question or two. Her classmates really didn't seem to care too much how they came across to her, she decided. She had wanted to try and be friendly with them, but they were making that extremely hard.

"There she is, the bitch that was with Minako," was the first thing she heard as she walked towards her desk. "The hell does she think she is, anyway." The boys were going to get started with her first, it seemed, Makoto thought.

But a girl spoke out and surprised her. "Who cares? You guys make her out to be so horrible, but all I've seen is a girl trying to get through school without a fuss. Why are you making her feel set apart? There were a lot of us our first year that didn't come from this district attending the school, and the ones who had been in the middle school here and knew each other didn't push us away. Man, we're class B too. Aren't we supposed to be smart enough to know not to look down on people?"

"Why are you standing up for her, Kairi?" one of the girls asked. "Do you think she's hot or something? I mean, I get you like girls and I'm okay with it, but she's kinda… Rough looking."

Kairi chuckled. "Sometimes the rougher they look, the softer they are. But no, while she is attractive I'm not speaking out because of that. You guys are just really hard on her and I feel like she'd be a great person to have as a friend. Maybe Minako already figured that out and that's why she's so friendly."

The bell rang as the teacher entered, ending the current discussion and moving attention towards the class lecture. Makoto took vague notes so that she could at least focus, but they were pretty useless for anyone else if they looked at them. She wasn't smart like Ami, something she figured out pretty quickly after talking to the girl while waiting for her mother, but she deserved her place is class 3-B. Writing with her injured arm was hard too, so her style of note taking was useful. The lectures weren't really extensive, mostly just highlights of things that they should know or will learn, but still a good idea to write down.

As soon as that class ended, Makoto was about to lay her head down and stare at the door for Minako, but she was approached by one of the girls and had to turn towards her.

"I'm Ichigo Kairi," she greeted, smiling and offering a hand. "You're Kino Makoto, the new transfer, right?"

Makoto nodded. "I figured that was a no brainer though."

"Yeah," Kairi agreed, laughing. "Sorry, I'm actually horrible at introductions. And just about anything else that involves prolonged human politeness. You mind if I just call you Makoto?"

"That's fine with me, so suit yourself."

"Awesome. You wanna come have lunch with me? I'll show you around the cafeteria and the like if you want." Makoto hesitated, not sure how to turn her down without sounding rude. "Ah, that must have been what Minako was talking to you about earlier. You don't have to worry about how you sound with me. I'm actually from a real rural town so telling me straight is fine."

Makoto nodded and grinned. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind, for next time I have to turn you down."

"Hey now, you always gonna turn me down?"

"Dunno, but maybe I won't or maybe I will. You'll have to keep inviting me that way, right?"

That made Kairi laugh and respond with, "That you're right." She stretched and stood up from leaning on the neighboring desk. "Well, I'm going to head out. If you need anything, though, don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

"Sure thing." Makoto hesitated a moment and then cleared her throat. "You have any after school activities?"

"Not really. You want me to give you a rundown of the school?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

Minako appeared in the doorway, pausing as she watched Makoto stand while she spoke to a classmate. They walked towards the door together.

"Sure, I don't mind," the girl was saying as they walked. "I'd give you some line about waiting after school in the hall or some other clichéd line, but we're in the same class so that would just be lame."

Makoto laughed and shook her head. "Please, don't start being lame. Anyway, thanks a lot. I'll see you in a bit, Kairi." Kairi walked off with a wave and Makoto turned to Minako. "Sorry about that. Did you wait long?"

"Not really. You managed to make a friend in your class?"

"Yeah, I did. She spoke out against some of the others talking about me, and introduced herself just now. She seems pretty cool."

Minako nodded. "She is. She used to play basketball and soccer, but quit those clubs towards the end of last year without any reason. I guess she's from a rougher town too, so she got a lot of crap when she was a first year, though not as bad as it sounds like you're getting. I heard a couple second years talking about you on my way back to class during the last break."

"It's actually pretty mild here, compared to a few other schools. I had one that wouldn't let me get through the first break without someone trying to pick a fight with me. Here I am at lunch and I'm making friends."

That made the solemn expression that was growing on Minako's face brighten a little. She couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, since Kairi was also the third year prince of the school, called such because of her attraction to girls. Minako was afraid Makoto wouldn't want to hear her feelings if she was captured by Kairi first.

"Anyway, I'm glad you invited me to lunch. I felt bad turning down Kairi but I don't think I could have given her a better excuse to eat alone if I hadn't had the excuse of eating with you and your friends. She seems cool and all, but I didn't want to eat with anyone else."

That warmed Minako's heart a little more. Makoto only wanted to eat lunch with her! Granted, that could change tomorrow, but it was a small victory for now. She was still many leagues ahead of Kairi when dealing with the musician!

"I'm glad you wanted to eat with me, too, Mako!"

They smiled and walked outside to join their friends.

* * *

><p><strong>This was supposed to come out Friday (it's Monday at 1:30 in the morning right now) but I was struck with a semi-sickness that refused to go away (still hasn't, I'm just restless and apparently unable to sleep tonight) and was put to work by my slave driver (girlfriend) to get the apartment clean for guests (in two weeks).<strong>

**I'm sure you can see why I was working on this now. Apparently I do the most writing at this hour (refer to past story notes and you'll see a lot of things got posted at 1 and 2 am if I remember right) so it makes sense that suddenly I felt compelled to finish this chapter tonight (today).**

**I also apparently feel the need to use (parenthesis) tonight/day... Oh well.**

**Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be out eventually! I'm estimating... maybe a total of about 15-20 chapters? Depends on what happens as I write, I suppose.**


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